Shock absorber for vehicles



June 1 19.26.v

A. M. GRAVES SHOCK ABSORBER FOR `vIsmIIGLEs Filed Jan. 26, 1925 3 Sheets-Shee 1 June 1 1926..

1,587,116 A. M. GRAVES SHOCK ABSORBER FOR VEHICLES Filed Jan. 2'6, 192.5 s sheetsnsheet 2 ki l 5y @MQWW' June 1 1926.

A. M. GRAVES SHOCK ABSORBER FOR VEHICLES Filed Jan.. 26, 1925' 3 Sheets-Sheat 5 l/vl/f/YTOR A M. @QA V55 Bv @t l A TToR/Yfvs Patented .lune 1, 1926.

UNI'IIEDy STATES ALBERT M. GRAVES, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

SHOCK ABSORBER FOR VEHICLES.

Application filed January his invention relates generally to shock absorbers for vehicles, and particularly to a shock absorber for a motor vehicle hav-. inn' a body which is resiliently supported with respect tothe axles of -said motor vehicle, whereby the shocks which ordi.- narily occur during,v the rebound of the common vehicle springs are reduced in number and intensity. y

As is well known, vehicle springs of the types used on motor vehicles are necessarily extremely resilient so that the occupants of the vehicles may be afforded the maximum amount of comfort while said vehicles are traveling over roads of only ordinary smoothness, and while said extremely resilient springs function in a highlyl successful manner under the conditions mentioned, a disadvantage arises in connection' therewith when an unusuallyy deep rut or high, upstanding obstruction is encountered. Under such circumstances the highly resilient springs are suddenly actuated by the unusual shock and said springs immediately recoil, whereby the bodies of the vehicles are caused to bob up and down in a violent manner with the result-ant diS- comfort to the occupants.

'lhe object of the present invention, therefore, is to reduce the number and minimize the intensity of the shocks which result from the recoil of the springs of a vehicle whereby the inconveniences recited above are reduced to a minimum.

lli/lith the foregoing and other objects inl view, the invention comprises the novel construction, combination andarrangement of part-s hereinafter more specically described and illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, vwherein is shown the preferred enr bodimcnt of the invention. However, 1t 1sv lo be understood that the invention comprehends changes, variations and modifications which come within the scope vof the claims hereunto appended.

Fig. I is a view, partly in front elevation and partly in section, of a fragment of the forepart of a motorvehicle showing my improved shock absorber associated therewith.

Fie?. II is a section on reduced scaleV taken on the lineIIII of F I.

Fig. III is a fragmentary plan view showing,l the bracket by means of which the spring-v of my improved shock absorber is attached, to the front axle of a motor-vehicle,

26, 1925.l Serial N0. 4,763;

Fig. IV is a section on a reduced scale taken on the line IV-.IV of Fig. I.

Fig. V is a longitudinal section through my shock absorber showing the manner in which` the spring of said shock absorber is retained under compression while the shock absorber is not attached to a motor vehicle..

Fig. VI is a view, partly in4 section and partly in rear elevation, of the rearmost portion of a motor vehicle; equipped' with my improvedl shock absorbers.

Fig. VII isa fragmentary plan view of' a portion of the mechanismI shown in Fig. VI.

Fig. VIII is an enlarged detail, partly in section and partly in elevation, showing the manner of attaching my shock absorber to the vehicle at the rear thereof.

In Fig. I of the drawings A designates the front axle of a motor vehicle, which axle is provided at each end with the usual steering knuckle B having an extending' steering spindle C on which a wheel (not shown) is mounted. The view mentioned shows one end only of the front axle A, but it is to be understood that the parts shown are duplicated at the opposite end of said axle. The body of the motor vehicle is resiliently supported by the usual leaf springs I) at the front of said vehicle, said leaf springs being suoported by the front axle and being' securee .thereto by means of U-bolts E. The frame, or chassis, of the motor vehicle includes channel members F which extend longitudinally of the motory vehicle, there being one of these channel members F at each side of said motor vehicle, and said channel members F constituting,r the support for the body G of the vehicle, as shown in Fig. VI. H designates a rportion of the radiator of the motor vehicle which rests on a transverse bar il' having its opposite ends secured to the channel members F. All of the parts thus far described are to be found in many motor vehicles as now constructed, and as the construction and function of these parts are well known, they will not be described further herein. vAll that need be known to. obtain ar clear understanding of the 'present invention is that the channel members F 'and the vehicle body supported thereby are resiliently supported with respect to the axle A, and that said channel members and body and said axle may move verticallywat respecta) @ffl-91% @that llO 1 designates a coil spring which is interposed under a high degree of compression between a pair ot oppositely disposed spring; seats Qv and il, earh or the oppositely disposed spring); seats being provided with a central boss l which extends into the spring' l. and each ol said spring' seats having' a marginal tlangre 5 which is turned inwardly in the nianneri'illustrated in Fig. l to firmly Lfrrip the adjacent end of the spring. it is apparent from this that the opposite ends otithe spring 1 are rieidly secured to the oppositeliy disposed spring seats. The spring' seat Q is secured to the channel member F and the spring' seat 3 is secured to the front axle A ot the Vehicle. By reterrina' to Figs. l and ll it will be seen that the spring' seat. i?) associated Wilh'a plate 6, which is preferably triangular 'in shape. The spring seat il and the triangular plate 6 are preferably formed separffitely and said spring' seat is provided with a projecting' portion 'i'. which is extended through an aperture S in the plate (j. after which the end portion oit said projecting portion 8.15 upset to rivet said spring seat and said plate together.

Located at the corners of the triangular plate (3 are apertures 9 through which bolts 10 are pas ed, the ends et said bolts being' provided with threaiiled portions 11 which extend through apertures in a plate 12 arranger at the side ot the channel member l? andironposite to the side adjacent to which the plate 6 is arranged. Screwed on the threaded portions ot the bolts 10 are nuts 1?) which hear against the plate 12. lt is apparent from the foregoing; that when the parts associated with the spring seat 2 are assembled described, and the nuts 13 are screwed tightly against the plate 12, the plates (3 and will be drawn very tirmly against the opposite sides of the channel member l?, whereby said spring' seat is retained in a fixed position on sait channel. member. il; d Jided adyantaeife in connection with the use of the spring seat attached to the elias in the manner just described arises t'rom the 'tact that. it is not necessary to drill holes in the channel n'ieinber l? to receive attaeliingij bolts. as has often been the ear-re heretofore. and because et the elimination of these holes the labor required to apply the shock absorbers to a vehicle is greatly reduced.

Referring now to the springr seat 3 (Figi. l). it will be seen that the spring; seat in'oper is provided with a projecting portion 1l similar to the projecting' portion 8 o1" the spring' set 2 and that said projecting portion 1l passes through an aperture 15 in a plate 16. rlhe outer end portion oit the proieeting; portion le, after it has been passed through the .aperture 15, is upset to securely rivet the spring seet- 5 to the pla-te 16. Referring' now to Fig. Hl, it will be seen that the plate 16 is provided with marginal liana/'es 17 which extend longitudinally ot the side marginal edges oi said plate, there being-f one of said fianees at each side edge ot said plate. 18 de. `v*rates a pair et oppositely disposed plates which are arranged at the opposite side edges of the plate 11o', said plates 18 having each a vertically arranged groove 1.9 into which the i'iang'es 1.7 extend, as shown clearly in Fig. Hl.

rPhe front arde A ot the vehicle is prorided with lateralljyf extended flanges A', and each ot the plates 18 is provided with an inwardly extended lug 2O which is so shaped and arranpjcifl that it will tit beneath one of said flanges, as shown in if s l and lV. llxtended through apertures in the plates "o is a pair oit bolts 2l, said bolts su) being' arranged immediately7 aboi'e and in Contact with the top 'face of the axle A. and cach of said bolts having; a head atA one ol its ends and a nut at its other end. t is apparent that when the oppositely disposed plates 18 are drawn toward each other by the manipulation of the nuts on the bolts 9,1. said plates wil tightly grip the axle A, and because the flanges A on the axle Aare gripped between the lues 2O on 'the plates 18 and one of the bolts 21, it is plain that said plates may not become disengagef from 'the axle .er While the bolts are in place. .also by referring to F I it will be seen that the upiiermost bolt .C2/l is located adjacent to a curved portion of the axle A and it is therefore not possible for the plates 18 to slide downwardly along' the flange A oit the axle. By referring to Fig. Hl it Will be noted that the axle A tapers to'vsf'ard the steering' knuckles B, and to retain the plates 18 in positions at right angles to the plate 1G l provide said plates with comparatively short lugs 22 which are adapted to Contact with said axle, as shown clearly in the view mentioned.

To understand the action on the shock absorber disclosed herein, it will be important to ohserif'e that there is a spring 1 at each side ol the motor Vehicle at the'tront thereof, and that these springs are assembled betn'een their spring seats under a very high degree ot compression so that their tendency to expand exerts a very considerable torce. However', these springs 1 normally lie in the horizontal position shown by full lines in Fig. I and therefore merely oppose each other 'ithout actually displacing any part ot' the structure. rssunie non' that the front Wheels ot the vehicle strike an obstruction which causes the body et the vehicle to be thrown upwardly. This will Cause the channel ineinbers F to more from the position in Which the single channel member shown in Fig. l

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is shown by full lines to the position shown by dotted lines, and the spring l will be inclined upwardly from the spring seat 3 to the spring seat 2. Since the spring is normally under a high degree ot compres sion, it will exert an upward thrust when positioned as shown by dotted lines in Fig. I, and this upward thrust will retard the return motion of the vehicle body. During the return motion the vehicle body moves downwardly and such downward movement is yieldingly opposed by the upwardly inclined spring l.

When the body ot the vehicle is forced downwardly or toward the axle A, or when said axle A is forced toward the vehicle body, the spring 1 will be displaced to the lowermost position shown by dot and dash lines in Fig. I, where it is inclined downwardly from the springv seat 3 to the spring seat 2. lVhen the spring is positioned as suggested it exerts a downward thrust against the ve-hicle body, whereby thefreturn upward movement of said vehicle body is yieldingly opposed by the downwardly inclined spring l.

It is apparent from theforegoing, there-- tore, that this device comprises a normally ineffective spring 1 adapted to occupy a horizontal position which may be regarded as the neutral position, for it then performs no useful function. When the body of the vehicle is moved upwardly or downwardly this spring is displaced to positions where it exerts upward or downward thrusts, which tend to retard the return mot-ion ot the body. To accomplish these results the spring must be under a high degree ot compression and its opposite ends must be secured to the axle and the vehicle body ot the vehicle, respectively. n important advantage is obtained by having the ends of the springs rigidly associated with the body and axle, respectively, so that each spring' is bent transversely between its ends in response to the upward and downward motions ot the body and axle.

The construction of the rearmost portion oit a motor vehicle chassis is usually quite difi'erentfrom the construction of the for- 'ard portion thereof, and this difference necessitates a change in the arrangement and constrarction ol my shock absorber. However, the rearmost portion ot the motor vehicle, like the forward portion thereof, is provided with a pair ot coil springs, each oft which is arranged under high compression between oppositely disposed spring seats, and these spring seats are secured to the body of the vehicle and to the rear axle thereof, respectively. Lilie the springs arranged at the front ot the vehicle, the springs at the rear thereof are opposed to cach other, and when in their neutral positio-11'sKY these springs are ineliective, but 'when displaced said springs exert upward or downward thrusts against the vehicle body.

Arranged at the rearmost end of the chassis ot` the motor vehicle is a channel bar K, the opposite ends of which are supported by the oppositely disposed channel members F Vl, VH and Vl-ll). The channel la K is riveted or otherwise secured to the channel bars F, as suggested in Fig. Vl. Arranged within the channel bar K is a member 28 which extends longi tudinally of said channel bar Jfrom end to end thereof, said member preferably being in the form et a wooden bar and said wooden bar being ot greater width than said channel bar K so that it extends beyond an edge of said channel bar in a transverse direction, as shown in Fig. VH1. Arranged in contact with the outer side tace ol t-he bar 23 is a plate 2li which extends longitudinally of vthe channel bar K from end to end thereof, and arranged in Contact with the rearmost iace of the channel bar ll: is a plurality ot vertical bars 25. Each oit the vertical bars 25 is provided with an aperture adjacent to its up-per end and an aperture adjacent to its lower end, and the` plate 24 is provided with similar apertures which are arranged in horizontal alinement with the apertures in the vertical bars 25.

Extended through the apertures in the plate 2li and the apertures in the vertical bars 25 are bolts 26 provided with nuts 27 on their threaded end portions. It' is apparent from the arrangement shown and described that the plate- 24: and the vertical bars 25 may be caused to tightly grip the channel bar K and the longitudinal bar 23 when said nuts 27 have been screwed inwardly on the bolt-s 26.

28 designates a pair of comparatively short channel bars which extend longitudinally of the motor vehicle and are spaced apart from each other in a direction transverse with respect to the vehicle. The channel bars 28 are connected together by a cha-nnel bar 29, the opposite end portions of said channel bar 29 being provided with flanges through which bolts are passed into the channel bars 28 whereby said channel bars 2S and 29 are secured together. 3() designates a pair otl vertical bars which are clamped' to the channel bar K by means ot ltlii bolts 30 the lower end portions of said vertical bars 30 being secured to the channel bar 29 by means or' bolts 3()a whereby said channel bar 29 and the associated channel bars 28 are supported. 3l designates vertical bars which are clamped to the channel bar K. in the same manner as are the vertical bars 25, said vertical bars 3]. being` each provided at their lower ends with a circular portion 32 which is arranged in contact with one ot the channel bars 28. 83 designates a tie rod, 'the opposite ends of which are. ex`

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tended through openings in said channel bars 28 and said circular port-ions 32 ot the vertical bars 3l, and said tie rod is provided with nuts which bear against the outer iiaces of said circular portions 52. Secured to each of the channel bars 28 at its forward end is a spring seat 534i, said spring seat preferably being` riveted to said channel bar in the same manner that the spring seats 2 and 3 a re secured to their supporting members.

35 designates members which are adapted to be clamped to the rear axle housing li ot the motor vehicle, said members 35 each having` a bifurcated portion adapted to straddle said axle housing` and having a bolt 3 by means o1 which the legs of said bi'inrcated portion may bc drawn together to clamp said member on said axle housing. ltiveted or otherwise secured to the opposife end of each member is a spring seat 237 similar to the sprii'ig seat 3l already dcscribed.

ly reierring to Fi Y, the individual spring ated pair of spring seats are spaced aprt trom each other in a horizontal direction, and that a coil spring` 38 is interposed between each associated pair oi. spring seats. The coil springs 38, like the coil springs l, already described, are interposed between their seats under a high degree of compression so that their tendency to expand exerts considerable force. llt will be noted that these springs are normally arranged in 'hori- Zontal positions so that they do not dispiace any part ot' the structure but merely oppose each other.

T he action of the shoclr absorbers at the rear of the axle is exactly the same as the action of the shock absorbers at the front oit the vehicle, tor when the body ot the vehicle is thrown upwardly the springs 38 will be .inclined upwardly from the spring seats 3? to the spring seats 3l, and since said springs are under a high degree ot compression they will exert an upward thrust which will retard the downward movement ol the vehicle body. On the other hand, when the vehicle body is forced toward the axle or the axle is forced toward the vehicle body, the springs 3S will be inclined downwardly from the spring seats 37 to the spring seats which will cause the springs to exert downward thrusts which will retard the return upward movement ot the vehicle body.

It is, oi course, desirable to assemble my shock absorber at the factory, and to sell it in an asseinbled condition, and because the coil spring is interposed between its seats under a high degree ot compression some means must be employed to maintain said coil spring in its compressed. condition. ln addition to the desirability of marketing the sho-'sli absor1 er in an assembled condition, safety requires that some means be ein- Vl it will be seen that seats of each associployed to harness the great power stored up in the spring when a shock absorber is being applied to or removed from a vehicle. i. therefore employ the means illustrated in Fig. V, in which view a pair of spring seats and 3 are shown between which a coil spring l is interposed under a high degree ot compression. rllhe spring seat 3 is provided with a smooth central opening e() torn'ied therethrough and the spring seat 2 is provided with an internally-threaded central opening` fl-l. l2 designates a rod which is aoaptcd to be passed through the smooth (mening` l() in the spring seat El and extended longitudinally through the coil spring.;` l, as shown in F V. The rod is provided with a threaded end portion 4:3 adapted to be screwed into the internally-tlneaded opening fil in the spring seat 2, and said rod is provided at its other end with a threaded portion on which is screwed a nut il which bears against the outer tace of the plate 16 associated with the spring seat 2. lt is apparent when the threaded end portion 4:5 ot the rod 4t2 is screwed into the internallythreaded opening /l-l in the spring seat 3 and the nut 44- is in contact with the plate 16, that the springs seats 2 and 3 will be prevented from moving away from each other and the spring will therefore be retained in its compressed condition, thus pei-mittingl the shock absorber to be handled with per- Jrect safety. llhile l have shown the rod l2 in Fig. V associated with the springl seats 2 and 3, itis apparent that a similar rod may be associated with the springseats l and 37, but because said spring seats 34 and 37 are provided with central openings and 6, respectively, which are larger in diameter than the central openings Ll0 and il, washers will have to be used with said spring seats illand 37 to prevent said rod from passing through said openings l5 and 46.

l. ln combination with a vehicle having an axle, a body and resilient means for supporting said body, a shock absorber, said shock absorber comprising a sprino seat associated with said axle, means for rigidly clamping said spring seat to said asie, a spring seat a:';soci'ate V with said vehicle body, means tor rigidly claniiiing said spring seat in place, and a spring ii'iterposed between said spring seats and having its ends rigidly secured thereto, said spring being normally arranged in a substantially horizontal position where it exerts no upward and down *ard pressure against said vehicle body and being moved when the body et the vehicle displaced vertically to positions where it exerts upward and downward pressure against said rchicle body.

2. A shcclnabsorber tor a vehicle having l Oil an axle, a body andresilient means supporting said body, said shock absorber comprising a spring under compression, means whereby one end ot said spring is rigidly connected to the axle, and means whereby the other end ot the spring is rigidly connected to said body, said spring being normally arranged in a .neutral position wherein it transmits no substantial upward or downward pressure to the body, and said spring being free to expand in response to upward and downward movements o't the body and axle.

3. A shock absorber for a vehicle having an axle, a body and resilient means supporting the body, said shock absorber comprising a spring confined under pressure and adapted to expand in responseto both upward and downward movements or' the body relative to the axle, one end ol' said spring being rigidly connected to the axle and the other end being rigidly connected to the body, said ends being iin dierent vertical planes so that vertical displacement of either the body or axle will permit expansion of the compressed spring, and said spring being free to bend transversely between its rigidly connected ends in response to said Vertical displacement.

4. A shock absorber for a vehicle having an axle, a body and resilient means supporting the body, said shock absorber comprising stressed springs at opposite sides of the body of the vehicle, means whereby one end of each spring is rigidly connected to the body, means whereby the other end is rigidly connected to the axle, said springs being normally under compression in substantally horizontal positions where they oppose each other without exerting any substantial upward or downward pressure against the vehicle body', and said springs being free to bend transversely and to expand in response to vertical displacement of the body and axle, so as to yieldingly oppose the return motions of the body and axle.

5. A shock absorber for a Vehicle having an axle, a body and resilient means supporting said body, said shock absorbe-r comprising a spring confined under pressure and adapted to expand in response to both upward and downwa rd movements of the body relative to the axle, one end of said spring being rigidly associated with the axle and the other end being rigidly associated with the body, said ends being in different vertical planes so that vertical displacement of either the body or axle will permit expansion of the compressed spring, and said spring being 'free to bend transversely between its ends in response to said Vertical displacement.

ln testimony that I claim the foregoing l hereunto aix my signature.

ALBERT M. GRAVES.

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